South AfricaIslandUNESCO World Heritage
Robben Island
5.5 km² of land in the Atlantic Ocean.
Satellite: Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 by EOX (CC BY 4.0). Outline and points © OpenStreetMap contributors / Natural Earth. North up.
In numbers
5.5km²
Area
12km
Coastline
17m
Highest point
18°C
Warmest sea
January
8km
To the mainland
When to go to Robben Island
Best to visit from January to February.
The sea is warmest in January (18 °C) and coolest in August (15 °C). The water never reaches 21 °C: bring a wetsuit.
Averages 1991–2020. Sea: NOAA OISST, the water within 35 km of the coast. Air, rain and sun: NASA POWER. Best months weigh warm afternoons (23–30 °C), sea of 24 °C or more and few wet days.
Island in Table Bay, South Africa
Robben Island is an island in South Africa. It covers 5.5 km², with 12 km of coastline. Its highest point rises to 17 m. The nearest mainland is 8 km away. It is part of a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Getting there
- Cape Town International Airport (CPT)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 29 km in a straight lineCar hire at CPT airport (Cape Town)Discover Cars · Affiliate link↗
- FerriesRobben Island Ferry
- 8 km from the mainlanddistance to the nearest continental coast
- From January to Februarybest months to go (from 30 years of averages)
Plan the trip
Ferries, stays and things to do
Some links above are affiliate links: if you book through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what the data on this page says.
On the island
What you find on Robben Island.
- 1beaches
- 1lighthouses
- 1restaurants, cafés and bars
Counted in OpenStreetMap, the map anyone can edit, inside the island's outline. A low number may only mean nobody has mapped it yet.
Cross-checked with our atlases
Robben Island in our other atlases
Everything Coastya, Peakyas, Lakeyas and Cascadyas know about what lies inside Robben Island, each with its own numbers.
3beaches and covesCoastya
Beach with the warmest sea
17.5°C
Shelly Beach
sea in the warmest month · according to Coastya
3 beaches
on Coastya, the beach atlas
- Shelly Beach17.5°C
- Rangatira Baycove17.5°C
- Edmondspoolcove17.5°C
The shape of the land.
On average the island stands 9 m above the sea. 100 % of it is below 200 m.
- 100 %0–50 m
Share of the island's area in each altitude band, from the Copernicus DEM (30 m, read at 30–240 m on large islands).
Size, for real
Next to islands you may know.
5 km
All outlines drawn to the same scale (Natural Earth and OpenStreetMap).
Month by month
The weather on the island.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Afternoon high (°C) | 22 | 22 | 21 | 19 | 18 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 18 | 19 | 21 |
| Night low (°C) | 18 | 19 | 18 | 16 | 15 | 14 | 13 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 |
| Sea (°C) | 18 | 18 | 17 | 16 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 16 | 17 |
| Rain (mm) | 14 | 9 | 17 | 37 | 51 | 91 | 81 | 76 | 40 | 31 | 30 | 12 |
| Wet days | 3 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 10 | 11 | 10 | 11 | 9 | 6 | 5 | 3 |
| Sun h/day | 12.7 | 11.9 | 10.5 | 8.7 | 6.7 | 6.2 | 6.8 | 7.3 | 8.7 | 10.5 | 11.9 | 12.6 |
| Wind (km/h) | 26 | 25 | 22 | 21 | 20 | 21 | 21 | 22 | 22 | 23 | 25 | 25 |
Averages 1991–2020 for the ~55 km NASA POWER cell over the island; the sea from NOAA OISST.
Recent years
Warmer and cooler years at sea.
Each month's sea temperature compared with its 1991–2020 average, in degrees.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | +0.2 | +0.7 | −0.7 | +0.3 | +0.1 | +1.2 | +1.1 | +0.3 | +0.4 | +0.7 | +0.9 | +1.4 |
| 2021 | +2.0 | +2.9 | +2.1 | −0.9 | +0.5 | +0.9 | +0.4 | −0.1 | −0.6 | +0.2 | −0.1 | −2.5 |
| 2022 | −0.7 | −2.3 | −2.6 | −3.0 | −1.7 | −0.4 | −0.3 | −0.6 | −0.5 | ±0.0 | −0.9 | −0.9 |
| 2023 | −2.7 | −2.9 | −1.6 | −0.3 | −1.0 | −0.1 | −0.5 | −0.2 | +0.1 | −0.8 | −0.5 | −1.7 |
| 2024 | −2.0 | −0.5 | −1.7 | −3.3 | −0.9 | −0.9 | −0.7 | −0.1 | −1.2 | −0.9 | −2.4 | −1.0 |
| 2025 | −1.2 | −2.7 | −1.7 | −1.4 | −0.7 | +0.1 | +1.0 | +0.3 | −0.4 | −0.9 | −2.4 | −2.7 |
+1 warmer than usual −1 cooler than usual
Photos
Seen by visitors.
About these numbers
| Names, area, population | Wikidata (Q192493) · CC0 |
|---|---|
| Outline | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Sea temperature | NOAA OISST v2.1 · 1991–2020 |
| Climate | NASA POWER · 1991–2020 |
| Relief, 3D model | Copernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA |
| Beaches, ports, lighthouses, trails | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Towns | GeoNames · CC BY 4.0 |
| Images | EOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons |
| Beaches, mountains, lakes and waterfalls | Coastya — Wikidata · CC0; © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL; GeoNames · CC BY 4.0; NOAA OISST |
Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.
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